


Lenses

by ppinotgrigio



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: AU, F/F, Honestly I’m Not Sure, Modelling, Modern Day, Photography, uhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-02 05:34:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20270785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ppinotgrigio/pseuds/ppinotgrigio
Summary: Therese is a rising photographer with little experience in photographing human subjects. Carol is trying out modelling to please her friend Abby.Therese finds that, well, human photography might not be so bad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever doing this and I know absolutely nothing about photography so feel free to critique my writing but don’t say anything about my lack of knowledge on what I’m writing about :)
> 
> I’m also so sorry I wrote this in present tense lmao I also regret it

"Dannie, could you get the blue one?" Therese calls out from the doorway, one foot stopping the door from closing on her while she struggles to keep her grip on the large black box in her arms.

"The what? Black?" She hears from the side of the car, the vehicle blocking her view of her friend.

"Blue!" 

"Okay!" Dannie replies, his voice straining as he takes hold of the heavy box. "Right, got it." His hands sliding into the slots on each side of the box, he begins to slowly waddle towards Therese, who bursts out laughing, nearly dropping her own box.

"Is it a bit heavy?" She teases, moving to let him into the studio after her.

"Do you want my help or not?" Dannie replies flatly, shoving the box down onto a table and sighing in relief. "Jeez Therese, what's in these?"

"Secrets." The girl whispers, passing him and leaving the studio to retrieve the final box from the car. "It's just equipment." She explains as Dannie joins her outside and closes the door of the car after her.

"That's a lot of equipment for one studio." He remarks questioningly, scuffing his feet as he rushes past her to help her with the door.

"Thanks." Therese breathes as she passes. "And it's not really. Not when you think about how much work goes into the pictures. Perfect lighting, perfect backgrounds, perfect angles, lenses." She places the black box next to an identical one and brushes the dust from her jeans. "Different things for different subjects, I suppose."

Dannie looks at her a moment. Her hair is slightly disheveled, but it's endearing. This, paired with the slightly oversized but comfy clothes she wore, makes her seem younger than she is. "You really put a lot of effort in. For everything."

Therese smiles and turns on her heel, sauntering over to the blue box Dannie brought in a moment ago. "I want everything to be perfect." She removes the lid of the box and gently takes out what appears to be disconnected pieces of a tripod. "I look at every small detail," she starts as she brushes a little dust off the metal frame, "and I think that every little thing should be, well, perfect." 

Dannie laughs and gestures to the other boxes. "Want me to unload these?" He offers. Therese replies without looking up, all her attention focused on the task at hand. "The smaller black one." Dannie nods and walks across the grey floor to the two black boxes resting on a wooden table. He carefully takes the lid off the smaller black one and starts to remove the contents. First, a small tub filled with strangely shaped light bulbs. Then, 3 rolls of white string in various sizes. And finally, a collection of pictures, grouped in small stacks and secured with rubber bands. He recognises them as Therese's work.  
Sliding off the band around one of the stacks, he flicks through the glossy pictures of trees, of houses, of wildlife. He notices a lot of birds too. "You like birds, Terry?"

When Therese replies, her voice sounds miles away, her mind so involved with whatever she was busy with over there. "Oh, yes." She says as she moves various beams and lights from one table to another. "I think birds are curious creatures. It's so hard to guess what they're thinking, unlike cats and dogs." She muses. Dannie doesn't think he's ever known what a cat or dog was thinking, but keeps listening. "And they can fly wherever they need to. That's useful in a world like this."

"A world like what?" He questions, his head tilted slightly to the side like a puppy. Therese finally looks up with a relaxed expression.

"A world where you never know what's coming. There could be danger round any corner, like a hungry feline. Or a poacher. Or, if you're a lucky bird, a big pile of seeds that someone dropped on their way to work."

Dannie laughs as Therese goes back to shuffling about between tables. "Who walks to work with handfuls of seeds?"

"Oh, I don't know." Her voice sounds distant once again. "It's a hypothetical situation."

"Fair enough." Dannie shrugs as he twists the rubber band back around the photos and reaches for another stack. This one is slightly smaller, and the top picture is almost completely black. As he moves it closer to his face, he realises it's a close up image of dark, almost jet black hair. Intrigued, he removes the rubber band and looks through the first few pictures. Dannie is surprised to see that these ones are portraits, due to Therese's usual interest in scenery or wildlife. The pictures progressively surprise him, the first few extreme close ups of skin, of eyes or cheekbones or hands. But as he delves deeper, he finds himself looking at full upper body portraits, some clothed and some not. A few shots of bare legs and high heels. Almost all of the photos are black and white, but one sticks out to him. It's filled with red, red lighting, red lips, a deep red coat which he's sure he's seen in the window of an expensive store in the centre of the city. It's a picture of a woman, turned to the side, the lights hitting her dark brown skin just right to the point where it seems she's glowing. He sets the picture aside and quickly skims over the rest before turning to his friend.

"Therese."

"Hmm?" She hums, flicking through what seems to be some sort of catalogue before throwing it back in the box and pulling out two metal tubes.

"These are really good." He gestures his hand towards the pictures, though Therese doesn't look up.

Therese connects the tubes with a satisfying click, and attaches the now longer pole to a base. "Sorry?"

"These portraits, Therese." Dannie presses, glancing back to the table. Finally, Therese's head snaps up. 

"Oh! Um, those are just-" she walks over to the table, hands reaching for the photos and a blush settling across her cheeks, "just practice shots," she laughs awkwardly, piling the shots back together and securing the rubber band once more. "I didn't realise they were in there.

Dannie scoffs, leaning back on one of the tables. "Just practice shots."

"That's right."

"That's a lot of practice shots you know. Plus, I know you used your good camera." He raises a brow and folds his arms across his chest. Therese stammers, evidently trying to find something to say.

"Well I don't want to practice with a shitty camera!" She turns to hide her pink cheeks, tucking the hair behind her ear that escaped from her ponytail.

"And a brilliant macro lens, may I add. I didn't know you had one like that, just regular ones for plants and such." Dannie continues to push the matter, enjoying his friends flustered state.

"Dannie-"

"Okay, okay." He gives up, raising his hands in a surrender. "I just want to know why you're hiding this incredible talent for human photography." He points out.

Therese's green eyes slowly raise from the floor back to Dannie. "I don't know what you're talking about." She regains some confidence, still clutching the photos in both hands. "I take pictures of people all the time."

"Yeah, newborn babies." He laughs, taking a step towards the table and picking up the red toned photo that he had set aside. "That's just because plenty of mothers are willing to pay you big sums to take a few snaps of their child for five minutes." He turns the photo over so Therese can see it. "This," he gestures, "is different."  
Therese grabs at the photo but Dannie is quick to hold it out of reach. "Who is this woman? A friend? A crush? Dare I say, a lover?"

"Dannie! No, I barely know her." Therese continues to try and snatch the photo back, to no avail. "She's a beekeeper." Dannie stops in his tracks and looks at her blankly.

"What?"

"That's right." Therese holds her ground. "She's not a lover, she's a beekeeper. She let me take pictures of her bees and the honey in the hive." She quickly turns and digs through the rest of the pictures in the box, eventually bringing out a few close up pictures of honeycomb and the bees. "See?"

"Right, so why do you have these pictures of her, if you were there to photograph her bees?" He eyes her suspiciously, evidently not buying the beekeeper story.

"Because we got talking and she revealed she used to be a model!" Therese blurts out, left hand out  
and eyes pointing up to the ceiling.  
"But she got let go because of her 'size,' so I offered to photograph her just for fun."  
Dannie laughs, thankful he finally got the story out of his friend. "Well that makes a bit of sense I suppose." He places the picture down on the table and takes a step back. "But what about those other women? I saw at least 4 other subjects in there." He points at the pictures clasped tightly in her hands. Therese sighs and gives in.

"Well, I thought the pictures of Maria- of, her." She waves her hand towards the picture of the girl on the table. "I thought they were pretty good. And well, taking pictures of human subjects is quite enjoyable. It's interesting."

"So you went out one night and picked up as many girls as you could-"

"No, Dannie." Therese interjects with a laugh, hitting his arm lightly. "Maria loved the pictures." She explains, "So she asked me if I could photograph some of her model friends too. And well, I enjoyed it, so I said yes. That's who those other girls are."

"So you and her..?"

"No Dannie. I put out an ad on Craigslist to find someone who would let me photograph their bees. I was putting together a portfolio focusing on geometric shapes in nature, and I thought honeycomb would be cool. She replied first." Therese finishes her story as she wanders back over to where she was previously working. "So that's that."

"When did this all happen?" Dannie suddenly asks, placing the rolls of white string one one of the tables next to Therese.

"A few months ago. Maybe 3." She replies, taking the structure she had been building, which he now realised was a coat stand, and placing it carefully near the door before clapping her hands together in success.


	2. Chapter 2

A heavy shopping bag in each hand, Abby Gerhard quickly walks along the street illuminated by streetlights and the moon, in the direction of her apartment, hunched slightly in an attempt to protect herself from the rain. Nearing her apartment building, she transfers one of the bags into the other hand, freeing a hand to type in the pin to unlock the door. She quickly steps out of the rain, lightly shaking the bags to remove some of the raindrops before stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for her floor. She feels her phone buzzing in her pocket, but doesn't bother checking it at the moment, deciding to wait until she can put the heavy bags down in her apartment. The elevator dings as it reaches her floor, metal doors sliding open to reveal the bright and familiar hallway. Abby steps out and approaches her own door, pulling the key from her pocket and unlocking it before entering her apartment. She quickly walks to the kitchen (dripping rain as she goes), and with a sigh of relief, places the shopping bags onto the counter and drops her arms down to her sides.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in." A voice remarks from the doorway, causing Abby to jump and turn around. 

"Jeez, Carol! Stop entering unannounced!" She replies, a hand on her heart in surprise.

"I texted you." The blonde raises her eyebrows from the doorway before sauntering into the kitchen. "Plus, you shouldn't have given me a key if you didn't want me to come in."

"It's for emergencies." Abby grumbled, shrugging off her soaked jacket and folding it over the back of a chair.

"Well, this is an emergency!" Carol stepped closer to her friend and placed her hands on her shoulders. Abby's eyes widened.

"Why? What is it?" She responded, curious as to what the emergency could be.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" Carol says dramatically, pulling Abby in for a hug, who rolls her eyes but hugs her friend back. 

"We've been busy." She steps out of the embrace and towards the shopping bags. "I call and text you all the time!"

"It's not the same though is it?" Carol follows Abby to the bags, helping her begin to unpack them. Together they make quick work of unloading the shopping, the fridge looking nicely full when they're done. "That's better. Come on, let's catch up." Carol goes back to the fridge and retrieves a bottle of beer, then gets a bottle opener from the drawer before crossing the kitchen to get some liquor. Following Abby out of the kitchen and into the living room, they each situate themselves on a sofa, Carol opening Abby’s beer before sliding it across the coffee table for her friend, pouring herself little whiskey and lying down on the sofa.

"How's Rindy's dancing?" Abby asks after taking a sip of the drink and placing it back on the table.

"Oh, it's going well." Carol smiles, thinking of her young daughter in her ballet slippers. "I think she's definitely enjoying it. Plus she's made some friends there." Abby too smiled at the thought of her goddaughter's enjoyment. "How's that girl you're chasing? What's her name again?"

"I'm not chasing her, Carol." Abby rolled her eyes, "We're dating."  
Carol gasped and made a shocked expression.

"Surely not! My Abby Gerhard? Dating?!" She overdramatised her yelling as she fell back against a cushion. "Never!"  
Abby laughed and took a swig of beer.

"Yes Carol, believe it or not. I really am dating. And she's called Gen." she smiled, eyeing her friend suspiciously. "When's the last time you got some?"

"Abby that is not what we are talking about here." Carol turned away and put a hand over her eyes. "This is an innocent conversation."

Abby rolls her eyes.  
"It's never an innocent conversation with you.  
Carol lets her head fall back against a cushion as she laughs.  
“If you have something to say just say just say it to my face!”  
Abby smiled and turns the beer in her hands.  
“No, no. I just think you should stop fishing for gossip and listen to my regular life.”  
“Well, where’s the fun in that?”  
“Where’s the fun in obsessing over my sex life when yours is so damn dry?”  
Carol gasps, sitting up and placing her glass on the coffee table.  
“Abby!” They look at each other in silence for a moment, a sly smile gracing Abby’s features.  
Suddenly, Carol stands. “I’m going home.”  
“No, honey.” Abby chases the blonde as she strides towards the front door. “Carol,” she grabs her arm and turns her away from the door, still grinning. “Sit back down. Come on. I’m sorry.”  
Carol drops her pout and pulls away from Abby.  
“Alright!” She smiles and walks back towards the sofa in the middle of the room. “So, Gen. Tell me the story.”  
Abby sits back down opposite Carol and picks up her beer again. Smiling, she looks up to the ceiling as if deep in thought.  
“Okay, so I was down in New Jersey. It was for Jamie’s shoot, remember the one I told you about? Anyways, the other girls on set were all really good friends with each other, so it was a bit awkward for me. It felt like high school, everyone cliquing together, you know?” Carol nods as Abby speaks, genuinely interested in hearing the story of her new girlfriend. “So when we took breaks, to eat and drink water and stuff, I was kind of by myself. But then Jamie decided to change the shoot a bit, so he got in four more girls. One of them was Gen. I guess it was just easier to get along with those four since they weren’t stuck together like glue. And after I hooked up with Gen after a night out, we just kind of continued seeing each other. We’ve seen each other a lot these past few weeks. She’s only over Staten, so it’s easy to get together when we’re free. I guess that’s it.” She leans back as she finishes her story, tipping back the rest of the beer too.  
“That’s lovely! I’m glad you’re happy, Abs. Can I meet her?” Carol smiles, finishing her drink as well.  
“Sure. If you’re free at some point this week or next, that is. She’s shooting over in Pennsylvania soon, so she’ll be away for a while.”

The two friends talk briefly about a day for Carol to meet Gen, and drink a little more as the night wears on. They end up getting a little drunker than planned, and chat nonsense, curled up together on one couch as a mediocre comedy show plays on the tv.

“You know, Carol. I think you’d make an excellent model. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again.” Abby says quietly, taking one of Carols hands and lacing their fingers together.  
“Don’t be silly, Abby. I’d make a terrible model. I’m awful at taking directions.” The blonde laughs, closing her eyes and laying her free hand over her eyebrows. “Anyways, we both know I’m not, well, model-like.”  
Abby leans back to look at carol with a confused expression.  
“What?”  
“You know.”  
“No, actually, I don’t. What do you mean?”  
“I just mean that I’m not, like, visually-“  
“Carol!”  
Abby’s shout startles both herself and Carol. They look at each other with wide eyes. Abby thinks that Carol looks like a deer in headlights.  
“What?” The blonde asks quietly, amused at Abby’s enraged shout.  
“Not visually what!?” She half screams. Her hand is in a claw-like grip around Carol’s.  
“...Appealing?”  
Abby let’s out a frustrated grunt and stands up, pulling Carol to her feet. She pulls her by the arm to the full length mirror hanging near the door, placing her firmly in front of it and stepping away.  
“Look at yourself.”  
“Abby-“  
“Look at yourself!”  
They stand in silence for a moment as Carol looks at her reflection.  
“Not visually appealing, my ass.” Abby says quietly, moving to stand behind Carol. “Look at us. We’re hot as shit. Especially you. You can’t tell me you’re not sex on legs, why do you think I had such a crush on you when we were teenagers? Did you think it was your charming personality? We both know that didn’t come until later.”  
Carol laughed and stepped away from the mirror.  
“Alright. Don’t shout at me anymore. I guess modelling just isn’t for me.”  
“Wouldn’t you just try it? Once?” Abby asked. “Not even a serious shoot. Just a fun one.”  
Carol sighed.  
“If I didn’t have to do any of the organising, then maybe.”  
Abby shrieked loud enough to make Carol cover her ears.  
“I can do it!” She was smiling from ear to ear. “Remember Maria?”  
“What?”  
“Maria.”  
“No?”  
“You don’t? She used to work with me quite a lot, but she became, like, a beekeeper, or something.”  
“Oh, yeah. The pretty one.”  
“Yeah. Anyways, she still comes to a lot of shoots, just to catch up, or help us with stuff. She’s done a couple shoots with some girl in Brooklyn, and convinced some of the other girls to go too. They love it. I can ask her for contact details, if you’d like.”  
Carol looks at Abby for a long time, thinking about it in her head. If she was going to be honest, she was bored. With a large inheritance from her parents and a healthy sum of child support from her ex husband, she didn’t need to work to keep herself on her feet.  
“You know what?” Abby’s eyes widened as she anticipated Carol’s response, “fine.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you readers for your feedback on chapters 1 and 2! If I’m going to be honest, I don’t really like this chapter, but I promise they will get more interesting as the story progresses! Chapter 4 is in the works, so that will be out soon! I appreciate criticism, so don’t hold back! Thanks :~)

“Yep. Yes. Dannie, I said- yes okay yes I told you! Right. No, I’m just heading in now. Okay. See you later. And you, bye.” Therese drops her phone back into her jacket pocket and pulls out the key to unlock the studio door. She fumbles with the lock for a moment before hearing the door click open, and pushes it quickly ajar to get out of the cold. She stands inside for a moment, shivering but relieved to be out of the snowy Tuesday morning. She turns, flicks on the main light, and hangs her hat and jacket on the coat rack beside the door.

One week after first entering the studio, it now looks a lot more like she’d imagined. There’s a desk across from the door, with a basic cash register for people who like to pay upfront or just need photos developed. Boards with information, contacts, prices, and options line the right wall from the window to the clock, and below it stands a long table holding photo albums with hundreds of example pictures Therese worked on for months. A heavy printer - that had taken both Dannie and Phil’s help to carry - is tucked in the back corner, near the dark developing room. In the other back corner, a door leads to the actual photography room, lined floor to ceiling with white and with a variety of studio lights facing the centre of the room like huge stick people. There is also a small prop closet between the studio and the darkroom, which Therese and Dannie had spent the best part of two days organising. She’s extremely proud of her studio, and can hardly wait to get started with clients.

Most of Therese’s income comes from taking newborn photos, product advertisements for brands, and the occasional wedding. She also found she can make a decent sum selling her scenery pictures to nature magazines and wildlife programmes. Overall, she does pretty well for herself, and is happy enough living in her humble Brooklyn apartment with her cat, Mitchell.

Therese walks around the front desk and seats herself in the office chair. She pulls out the thick blue planner from a shelf under the desk and drops it on the smooth surface with a thud. She opens the planner to see what her week looks like. Later today, she would need to email her newest photoset to Phil’s friend’s brother Chris, who uses them for his nature blog and who’s trust fund allows him to pay far more than Therese asks of him. Tomorrow, Mrs Barkley would be round to pick up her daughter’s baby pictures, already sending a long email to Therese about how the digital copies she sent were the most beautiful and tear jerking photos she’d seen. For the rest of the week, she expects to be fairly quiet. She has a few deadlines for different magazines on Friday, and would need to be in the studio to develop photos between 2 and 7 every day, but other than that she didn’t expect to do much. She has plans to drive down to the coast to get some scenic shots for her website, and she has an appointment with a bride-to-be this coming Sunday to decipher if she would be able to shoot her wedding in April.

While Therese is putting the planner back on the shelf, the telephone on the other side of the desk begins to ring. She realises this is her first call in her very own studio, and panics as she decides what she should greet the caller with. Picking up the phone in a slightly shaky hand, she raises it to her ear.  
“Hello, this is Belivet Photography. Can I help you?”  
“Hey, Therese! It’s me, Maria. New number?”  
Therese smiles in relief as she hears the friendly voice of her acquaintance.  
“Hi, Maria! Yeah, I moved into my new studio. In fact, you’re my first call here. How are you?”  
“I’m honoured! I’m well, just wondered if you’re available any time to shoot with a friend of mine. Well, more of a friend of a friend. It’s nothing big, and she can definitely pay you well. What do you say?”  
Therese bends to pick the planner back up. She opens it to the next week and looks over her availability.  
“Yeah, sure! I’d definitely be up for that. I can tell you my availability over the phone, or I could email it to you? It might be easier to just send it through over email. Or you could give me the client’s contacts and I could reach her directly?” Therese opens a drawer and shuffles through it for a scrap of paper and a pen. She picks up a receipt for the lamp she bought the other day and flips it over. Maria recites Abby’s email and mobile number and says goodbye to Therese, reminds her that they should work together soon, accepts Therese’s response that she’ll text her. Then Therese puts the phone down and opens up her email on the desktop.  
“Hello Abby,” she types in a new email,   
“This is Therese from Belivet Photography. Thought I’d contact you directly to find out your availability to shoot!  
My services are not expensive, but we can decide on a price depending on how much time you’d like. I have a studio we can shoot at here in Brooklyn, unless you have a specific place in mind. I’m available until around 2 every day, bar this Friday, Sunday, and next Wednesday. However, evenings after 7 are okay too, if a late finish is fine with you. Just let me know what works for you!  
Hope to hear from you soon,  
Therese.”  
She quickly scans over the email to make sure it’s grammatically correct but not too formal, and hits send.

Almost exactly two hours later, Therese looks up from her camera to the sound of an email coming in. She flicks off the studio light pointing at the can of soda she was shooting for some unknown energy drink brand, and sets her camera down. Entering into the main room of the studio, she crosses to the desk and sits herself in the seat with a sigh. Abby’s punctual reply it’s a pleasant surprise, and she clicks onto the email happily.  
“Hello Therese,  
Thanks for reaching out. I should let you know, it’s actually my friend Carol - who is not an experienced model - who is being photographed. I’ll be along to help her though. I’m sure she won’t be difficult however, she is plenty photogenic. We can come on Saturday at 10am, if that works.  
We look forward to meeting you!  
Abby Gerhard.”  
Therese types out a quick confirmation, hits send, and writes the event in the planner. Then she turns to look at the door to the photography room, still open, and huffs as she stands up and goes back to work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI - the first part of this chapter is a text convo! Thought I would just add an an explanation here :) hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> I don’t think I accidentally switched to past tense anywhere in this chapter, but if I did sorry! Someone please let me know and I will edit it :)

Abby: Are you up? I’m just leaving.

Abby: Carol?

Abby: Carol.

Abby: Carol!!!!!

Carol: I’m up! I was on the phone.  
Call me when you get here.

Abby: Okay

Abby places the phone down in the passenger seat and gets into her car. Backing out of her spot, she flicks on the radio and turns up the heat, still cold from outside. The drive to Carol’s apartment is short, and as she pulls up on the kerb she picks up her phone and opens their text thread.

Abby: I’m here come down 

Carol: Didn’t I tell you to call?

Abby: Come. Down.

Carol laughs lightly and leaves her apartment, purposefully taking the stairs instead of the elevator just to annoy Abby. Opening the front door of the building, she shivers against the cold and runs across the street to Abby’s car.  
“Hello darling.” She says with with a petty smile, dropping down into the passenger seat and facing her irritated friend.  
“What the fuck took you so long?”  
Carol laughs at Abby’s cross face, leaning forward to open the air vent and let the hot air hit her face.  
“Good things come to those who wait. Let’s go, we’re going to be late.”  
“And who’s fault is that!”  
Abby turns the car off of the kerb and drives down the street, above the speed limit. She scowls across the car to the sounds of “You love me.” And “Let’s see that smile!”, and by the time they reach the studio - not late like they’d thought - Abby is no longer mad.  
“Is this it?” Carol asks, leaning forwards to look up at the sign above the door.  
“Oh geez, Carol. I don’t know. Are we really sure this building labelled ‘Belivet Photography Studio’ is really Belivet Photography Studio?”  
“What is up with you today!” Carol laughs loudly, opening the car and pulling her bag out after her.  
“It’s my time of the month.” Abby grumbles, following Carol towards the front of the building. “Let me go in first.”  
The door opens with the jolly sound of a bell and a “Just a minute!”.  
The two step in and sigh happily at the warmth. Therese doesn’t look up as she bumbles between the photography room and the prop closet, taking boxes of items and placing them on shelves - one including seashells, Abby notices. Finally, a young woman holding a very tiny baby steps out of the photography room, smiling warmly at Carol and Abby.  
“Hi,” she greets as Therese dips back into the photography room, “You’re her 10 o’clock?”  
“That would be us!” Abby replies, stepping forwards to talk to the woman, Carol following. “What a cute baby.”  
“Thank you. This is Rosie. She’s 2 weeks.” She smiles, gently turning the newborn so they can see her face. The women coo over the tiny baby for a moment until Therese finally stops bustling around.  
“Thank you, Laura.” She says, smiling at the woman who steps towards the door. “I’ll invoice you when I send the digitals. You can come and pick up the physical copies later, or I’ll just mail them to you.”  
“Thanks so much Therese. Sorry again for the late notice.” Laura replies as she leaves the studio, holding the door open with one hand.  
“No problem! Obviously you’re kept busy with the little one.” Therese grins, removing her camera from around her neck. She waves goodbye to Laura and Rosie, brushing her hands on the back of her jeans. “Right! Hi, sorry. I’m Therese! Which one of you is Abby?”  
Abby steps towards Therese, taking her hand and shaking it gently.  
“Hi, Therese! Nice to put the face to the name.” She greets happily, turning back to Carol. “This is Carol.”  
Therese’s gaze finally turns to Carol, her breath catching in her throat. She is slightly shocked at the blonde’s beauty. Her eyes scan over her hair, curled but just enough that it looks natural, and her lips, coated in a layer of red that matches her nails.  
“You’re...” Therese’s train of thought runs off track. “Not a model?”  
Carol and Abby look at each other and laugh, slightly confused expressions on both their faces. Therese curses herself inwardly for her awkward first greeting to Carol, a pink tone settling itself across her cheeks and nose.  
“No, just Carol. Hi Therese, nice to meet you.” Carol’s voice rings smooth in Therese’s ears, and it takes everything in her to not close her eyes and bask in the sheer warmth of her. Carol takes her hand and shakes it like Abby had.  
“Likewise.” Therese responds in an attempt to regain her composure. “Right, why don’t we take a seat over here so we can discuss today.”  
The three move off to the small sofa on one side of the room, Therese pulling up a chair to sit opposite Carol and Abby. They discuss the details of the shoot, coming to an agreement that Therese would simply shoot what she sees to be best, like she had with Maria and her friends. Therese tells them about how Maria was doing her a favour by giving her practice, and it was mainly for the photographer rather than the model.  
“So you just do whatever you want? And I just...” Carol ponders, “well, sit and look pretty?”  
Therese laughs and pulls at a loose thread on her sleeve.  
“Well, yes, I suppose. If that’s okay with you.”  
“Oh no, that works just fine. I have no idea what I’m doing anyway, so I’m happy for you to do your own thing.” Carol smiles at Therese, who feels exposed under her gaze.  
After talking for a few more minutes, they decide to just get started.  
“The photography room is just over here. The studio lights can make it really hot, but I’ve got waters in the fridge.” Therese explains as they cross the room and head towards the door at the back. Suddenly, she stops and looks over to the front door. “Whoops, sorry. I forgot to tell you that you can hang up your jackets over there.”  
“Thanks.” Abby smiles, turning to Carol and walking over to the coat stand with her. As they walk, Therese can’t help but stare over at Carol as she walks away, who is wearing a pretty but not too formal black dress (picked out by Abby), and she makes a mental note to thank Maria again for the opportunity.  
“Okay then, let’s get started!”

To begin the shoot, Therese sits carol on a chair in the middle of the room, letting Abby position her in a way that she thinks looks good. Therese’s talent seems to lie in more artistic shots - close ups of skin and hair, manipulating shadows to change how each shot is perceived. Carol is slightly awkward at first, due to her lack of experience, so Therese takes a few easy shots to break the ice. With Abby’s help, they build a solid collection of different shots; Carol looking up at an imaginary object on the ceiling, Carol’s hair falling over her shoulder and brushing her jawline, Carol’s hand on the back of the chair, black dress meeting the smooth skin on Carol’s back. Therese circles around her hundreds of times, and she soon becomes sure she know’s Carol’s features by heart. Abby keeps Carol’s confidence up, telling her what she’s doing right and what she should try next. They chat about nothing as they work, Abby cracking jokes every so often if it gets too quiet. After a while, Therese goes through to get them each a bottle of water, picking up her phone from its place on the desk and opening a new text to Dannie.

Therese: Dannie oOooh my god

Dannie: All good?

Therese: I’m taking pics of a deity

Dannie: Aw geez.

Therese: I’m serious. She’s SO hot

Dannie: You know what? Maybe I should get into photography

Therese chuckles and puts the phone back down, going back into the photography room with the water. Abby and Carol are talking in the middle of the room.  
“Therese!” Abby says when she looks up, “I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go. Think you can handle this one on your own?”  
Carol scoffs and hits Abby’s arm, laughing.  
“Oh, no problem, that’s fine. We’ve made solid work anyway, I don’t think we’ll be much longer.” Therese responds, handing one bottle to her and one to Carol. “Thanks a lot for the help though, it’s been really fun.”  
“I thought so too! I’m sure I’ll see you again.” Abby walks towards the door. She turns to Carol. “I’ll just let myself out. You sure you’ll be fine without a ride?”  
“I’ll get a cab.” Carol waves her out. They hear Abby call a ‘Ciao’ as the bell on the front door rings, and Carol and Therese turn back to each other.  
“Ready to jump back into it?” Therese asks, smiling up at the blonde, no longer feeling nervous in her presence, but still very much in awe.  
“Of course. You’ll have to help me now that Abby’s gone, though.”  
“No problem.”  
Therese takes Carol’s water bottle and places it on the floor by the door beside her own. She gets Carol to sit back in the chair and looks at her for a moment, eyes squinting as she thinks.  
“Okay, lean back a bit?” Carol does what she’s told. “Can you sort of... push your hair back, but keep it around your shoulders?”  
“Like this?” Carol runs a hand over the underside of her hair, manipulating it as best as she can.  
“Hold on.” Therese takes over, moving the blonde locks over Carol’s shoulders to make it look like it fell that way naturally. Her soft fingers brush against the side of Carol’s neck, and she sees goosebumps erupt over the skin. She pauses. “Oh. I’m sorry.”  
Carol laughs awkwardly.  
“It’s fine, it’s just that your hands are warm-“  
“Wait.” Therese interjects, watching how the goosebumps raise over Carol’s collarbones and chest. She rushes to the side and fixes a studio light over their head, casting shadows which emphasise the soft bumps. “May I?” She holds her hand beside Carol’s neck.  
Carol understands what Therese wants to try. “Okay.” She agrees quietly, her close proximity to the brunette making her think things she probably shouldn’t. Therese softly runs her fingertips down Carol’s neck, watching the goosebumps once again spread over the skin. She lifts the camera and aims right on the area where her neck meets her chest, the edge of one collarbone visible to the right.  
“Perfect.” She looks at the image on the small screen, turning it to show Carol how it looks.  
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Carol responds, sitting back up and taking the camera in her hands. “You seriously have an eye for detail.”  
Therese can’t help but blush, maybe because of the heat from the light directly above them, but almost definitely from the compliment.  
“Thank you.”  
She smiles down at the blonde, and they look at each other for more than a small moment. Finally, Carol breaks the silence.  
“If you don’t mind me asking, Therese, how old are you?”  
Therese blinks and raises an eyebrow slightly.  
“I’m 21.”  
“Okay.”  
“Am I allowed to ask you too?”  
“No.”  
“Oh, sorry.”  
“I’m just kidding. I’m 34.”  
“Okay.”  
The two fall back into silence. After a moment, Therese coughs and awkwardly comments that they should finish the shoot. For the rest of the time, she avoids touching Carol’s skin.

When they think they’ve taken enough pictures, Carol gives Therese her email so she can send the digitals over.  
“Thank you. You did great.” Therese hands Carol her jacket and glances outside at the weather.  
“I should be thanking you. You made it very enjoyable.” Carol returns, taking the jacket gratefully. “I should tell you, I was really nervous. I’ve never really had anyone take pictures of me.”  
Therese smiles and opens the door.  
“It’s my pleasure. I’ll invoice you.”  
“Thanks.”  
The two wave goodbye as Carol leaves the studio and walks down the road to get a cab. Therese watches from the window until she is out of sight, and then drops down onto the couch, holding the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, wondering how she will be able to work on editing every picture of Carol without getting distracted by, well, Carol.  
“Nice one, Belivet.” She laughs quietly to herself. “Nice one indeed.”


End file.
